


Shopping with SWAT

by Ladytalon



Category: Day Break
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-09
Updated: 2010-06-09
Packaged: 2017-10-10 00:29:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/93285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladytalon/pseuds/Ladytalon





	Shopping with SWAT

  
  
  
**A/N:** Takes place between Chapters 16 and 17 of _An Internal Affair_.

  


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Andrea had just hung up the phone and scribbled a phone number down on a piece of paper when she looked up to see Detective Santos beckoning to her. "What's up, Maria?"

The other woman grinned. "SWAT boys are here; Paul just texted me to meet him down on the first floor – coming?"

"I don't want to interrupt anything you've got going with Paul," Andrea demurred just as the elevator doors opened and a familiar figure stepped out.

"Let's go, Battle! What are you, waiting for an official invitation?" Chad rapped his knuckles on her desk loudly. " C'mon, we've got work to do…. Hey, Maria. Lookin' _muy caliente_ today," he flirted with an exaggerated wink.

Maria giggled and slapped at his bicep teasingly. "Oh, Señor – you make a girl wish she weren't already married!"

"What work do we have to do? It's Friday," Andrea reminded him, but allowed herself to be dragged from her seat and into the elevator as he continued to tease the other woman.

Chad dropped his arm across her shoulders and grinned down at her. "We're not practicing tomorrow, so we're going to have a drill before we all get together tonight for dinner… and I get to share an elevator with two of the most beautiful women in the precinct," he sighed happily. Maria laughed again as the doors opened, then made her way across to her husband. The pregnant Homicide detective smiled around at the rest of the team in farewell, and Chad joined in the good-natured teasing of Paul as the SWAT officer took his leave.

"Battle!"

"Andreaaaaaaa….!"

"What's goin' on, Chad's Angel?"

"Hey, Battle – your boy could barely keep his eyes open today… save your lovin' for the weekend when he doesn't have to work the next day, yeah?"

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

Chad directed them all out the doors to the parking garage. "We're going shopping. For food," he added when Andrea looked at him quizzically. "Trust me, it'll be fun. It's a training exercise."

Andrea frowned up at him. "With food?"

"With food." She bit back her questions as she climbed in the passenger seat and Chad flipped on the lights and led the other four cars - which had their lights as well as sirens turned on – down the street to the nearest supermarket where the bag boys stared in awe at the SWAT trucks screeching to a halt in the parking lot. Andrea was beginning to think she was in some sort of absurd pipe dream when her companions leaped from the cars and began strapping on their body armor to go grocery shopping. _What the…?_

Chad pulled a piece of paper out from a uniform pocket as he tucked his riot helmet under an arm, and tore it into three equal strips. "Team A, you've got the produce department. Team B, alcohol and meat. Detective Battle and myself will head Team C in the canned goods. Everybody clear? Radio silence only unless absolutely necessary." He passed out the slips of paper and the other men and women separated into teams, nodding. "Let's move, people!" They all took off at a dead run towards the doors and Andrea was left standing in the parking lot, bemused. She'd be waking up any second now, and Chad would laugh when she told him what she'd been… "_Battle! **Move it**_!"

Galvanized into action at the voice of authority, she ran to catch up to her team but couldn't shake her amusement as her eyes passed over the SWAT team throwing cabbages at each other. "What the…? Was that really on the list? Cabbage?"

Chad blinked. "Cabbage? Who's got cabbage?" She pointed and he picked up his radio. "Damnit, just get the slaw _in a bag! _ Jesus!"

Across the store, Hawkins dropped the head of cabbage in surprise. "But, sir, it's better when it's fresh and I've got a recipe-"

"_NO! _" Chad roared. "Alright, let's go get our part of the list. Battle, you go with Williams with the cart. Lipson, you're with me…"

The lanky brunette nodded and they took off down one aisle while Andrea was pulled down another by her 'partner'. "Ira, what's the whole point of-"

The bellow of "_Incoming! _" had them both scrambling for cover as a can of beans was hurled over the aisle divider, nearly taking out an entire row of bottled juice. "Oh, get the _cart_…!" Williams gasped and pushed the cart forward just enough so that the kidney beans fell into it with a _thunk_ that made him sigh in relief. "Safely intercepted, sir," he called back, then scrambled to move the cart to catch three more cans that sailed over at them.

Andrea tried to keep from laughing as the radio crackled into life. "Moving to the next aisle – stay low," Chad's voice warned softly.

"Roger that," Williams breathed back just as seriously and she could no longer hold back her guffaw, which changed into a startled yip when a bag of corn chips hit her in the back of the head.

"Hey, who just-" A second one smacked into her and she whirled to see a confused looking employee standing at the end of the aisle in front of Hawkins, who was holding him hostage with a can of Easy Cheese. "You're going down, Hawkins," she warned. Behind her, Williams ran with the cart to the next aisle where she could already hear the multiple rattles of cans falling into it. Andrea snatched up a can of olives and feinted a throw, making Hawkins push the hapless employee towards her as he ran off to find the rest of his team.

Chad ran past her suddenly to snatch one of Team B's carts of beer, ducking a flung package of ground beef as he dove to safety. "Lipson, how's the list coming along?"

"Williams just has to get the – no, he's got it; we're clear, Sergeant!"

They ran up to the checkouts in a tie with Team A, then the employees who were hunched down behind the registers in terror as they approached had to be coaxed out of hiding. Andrea had the distinct impression that they would have called the police if not for the fact that the LAPD was already inside their store causing the ruckus to begin with. Chad watched on the other team's progress, slapping his riot baton into the palm of one hand threateningly as he caught the eye of one of the checkout clerks. "Just ignore him," Hawkins assured the frightened teen. "He doesn't like cabbage."

Andrea surveyed their competitors with a frown, and leaned into Chad. "They're almost done; I don't think we'll be able to catch up."

"Game's not over until it's all loaded up… see how they're bagging? Ten bucks says it's going to split right in the middle of the parking lot," Chad murmured back, handing over payment and smirking as Lipson and Williams finished bagging a few seconds after the other team. "Let's go." Sure enough, as soon as the others tried to carry the bags instead of braving the speed bumps of the parking lot, the bottom of the bag ripped and the hotly contested heads of cabbage fell to the pavement. Chad's "I told you so" died on his lips when he noticed Team C lounging by the cars and looking very pleased with themselves. "Wha…?"

"Self-checkout, Big Dog. Self-checkout."

Lipson swore, and Chad started to laugh. "All right, you win. Looks like we'll be cooking and they'll be cleaning up," he grinned, hooking a thumb over his shoulder at Team A who were still trying to recapture the runaway potatoes. They loaded the trucks, shouting to each other about who pegged who with what in the frozen food aisle, and Andrea snickered when she saw half of the store's staff pressed up against the windows to watch the SWAT team leave.

She glanced over at Chad as she fastened her seat belt and he started the car. "Do you guys do this often? That was the craziest thing I've ever seen – Hawkins hit me in the head with a couple bags of Tostitos."

Chad lifted a hand to wave at the employees lining the windows before turning back to her. "Oh, this is nothing. You should see what happens when we go to Blockbuster."

~_fin_~  
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